Corps Use Bands To Push Brands at SxSW

It's a known fact that a crowd attracts a crowd and crowds attract marketers. SxSW is now different, and with crowds reaching 12,000, it's becoming less about bands reaching fans and more about branding. Just as the music is everywhere during the annual event in Austin, TX, so are the posters, logos and freebees.

But for some companies, rising above the noise has become impossible. According to a New York Times report, "For many companies, the backlash has already begun. Scion, a Toyota brand that was a major presence at South by Southwest for the last four years, pulled out this year because the combined noise of so many competing sponsors was starting to drown out the music, said Jeri Yoshizu, Scion’s manager for sales promotions and a veteran of underground music sponsorship. “The music was lost among the banners, the energy drinks and the guerrilla marketing happening all over the place,” she said. “It was a bummer. There was a disconnect between the music and the people who wished to hear it.”

The article goes on to point out that, "Giant balloons shaped like energy-drink cans bobbed in the wind on East Sixth Street, and nonmusic companies like PepsiCo, BlackBerry and National Public Radio have established a greater presence, as music magazines and record labels have scaled back." It's all a sign of the times as major corporations reassign their ad dollars from traditional media to more targeted opportunities, such as parties and events at venues like SxSW. Still, you have to ask, how much is too much? In the past, SxSW relied heavily on the hefty prices of their all-access badges as a mani revenue stream. Now, with large corporations providing alternative events that are mostly free, more attendees are finding that they can go to SxSW, hear dozens of great bands, partake of all the show's ambience and never buy a ticket.